OO  i 


Tam 

Sermons 

T 


Christian  fissions  illustrate  bp  tbt  glcts  of  |)aul  in  gthcns. 


A s E R M 0 N , 


PREACHED  BEFORE  THE 


ANNUAL  MEETING, 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS, 
SEPTEMBER  *2«.  1855; 


BY  R E V.  J AMES  A . T II  O M E 


AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION, 


Kristian  gtissions  illustrate  bti  t|}f  gets  of  jgaul  in 


A SERMON, 

PREACHED  BEFORE  TIIK 

AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION, 

AT  THE 


ANNUAL  MEETING, 


AT 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS, 
SEPTEMBER  26,  1855: 


BY  REV.  JAMES  A.  THOME, 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 


Ncru-lork: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION,  48  BEEKMAN  ST 
PRINT8I>  BY  JOBS  A.  GBAY,  95  A 97  CLIFF,  CORNER  OF  FBANKFOBT  BTRKBT. 


1 8 5 5. 


re  u ■ ■ a m;.  ^ 


/ 


T 


Ofl«aU8ir,-i 


Sermons 


SERMON. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  ILLUSTRATED  BY  THE  ACTS 
OF  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 


Acts  17 : 22-3. 


Then  Paul  stood  in  the  midst  of  Mars’  hill,  and  said,  Ye  men  of  Athens,  I perceive 
that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  superstitious.  For  as  I passed  by,  and  beheld  your  de- 
votions, I found  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  To  The  Unknown  God.  Whom 
therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I unto  you. 

The  missionary  enterprise  is  the  preeminent  glory  of  the  present 
age ; but  it  is  not  because  to  this  age  belongs  the  honor  of  originating 
Christian  missions,  or  of  contributing  to  them  any  new  principle  or 
power.  They  are  not  the  offspring  of  the  nineteenth  century ; but  the 
nineteenth  century,  with  its  advanced  civilization,  its  boasted  institu- 
tions, its  marvellous  energies,  is  the  maturing  offspring  of  Christian 
missions.  They  are  not  of  modern  nor  of  human  origin.  They  are 
as  old  as  Christianity ; and  they  originated,  with  it,  in  the  mind  of 
God. 

The  enterprise  was  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ,  inaugurated  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  set  in  full  operation  under  the  Apostles ; and  its 
early  successes  illustrated  the  perfection  of  the  scheme,  and  proved  it 
to  be  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God. 

To  succeeding  generations  of  Christians  was  committed  the  work, 
not  of  inventing  new  mission  systems,  nor  of  improving  the  original, 
but  of  carrying  it  out  in  strict  pursuance  of  authoritative  directions 
and  primitive  usages.  Bound  to  conduct  missions,  yet  laid  under  in- 
terdict touching  any  material  change  of  them,  the  Church  ought  to  be 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  divinely-prescribed  principles,  mea- 
sures, and  forces  of  Christian  missions. 

These  are  developed  in  the  instructions  of  our  Lord ; and  they  are 


4 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


exemplified,  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  apostolic 
labors,  especially  in  the  acts  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  ; 
and  preeminently  so  in  the  discourse  of  Paul  in  Athens.  Of  this  dis- 
course a distinguished  modern  author  observes,  it  “ was  the  crisis  and 
consummation  of  the  meeting  of  Christianity  and  Paganism  and  it 
may  be  regarded  as  a manual  for  missionaries  in  every  age. 

The  ACTS  OF  PAUL  IN  ATHENS  claim  our  study,  as  illustrat- 
ive of  the  established  principles  of  Christian  missions. 

As  missions,  though  simple  in  purpose  are  complex  in  plan,  we 
shall  accordingly  discuss  the  proposed  subject  by  a consideration 

I.  Of  the  Field. 

II.  Of  the  Work. 

III.  Of  the  Agency. 

I.  The  Field.  Christ  in  one  word  defined  it : “ The  field  is  the 
world.”  One  brief  pregnant  sentence  of  inspiration  declares  its  moral 
condition,  “ the  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness.” 

But  Christ’s  instructions,  as  he  sent  forth  his  disciples  to  preach, 
and  the  general  course  of  his  Apostles,  before  and  after  his  departure, 
point  to  great  cities  as  at  once  the  representatives  of  the  state  of  the 
field,  and  the  strongholds  of  the  powers  of  darkness  in  it,  and  there- 
fore as  the  principal  points  of  missionary  attack. 

The  Holy  Land  was  a field  within  the  field,  a little  world  amidst 
the  great  world,  the  favored  seat  for  ages  of  partial  light.  Through 
successive  judges,  law-givers,  and  prophets,  God  revealed  himself  to 
his  chosen  people,  and  through  kings  and  priests  he  ruled  over  them, 
and  maintained  among  them  his  worship.  A long  process  of  theocratic 
culture  trained  the  nation  in  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  the  true  God  ; 
and  gave  a religious  stamp  to  that  extraordinary  race.  Their  literature, 
their  civilization,  their  politics,  their  wars,  even,  were  religious.  On 
every  institution  was  inscribed,  Holiness  to  the  Lord.  Grievous  de- 
partures from  God  were  frequent ; but  divine  messages  or  chastise- 
ments brought  back  the  wandering  people. 

The  national  life  of  the  Jews  had  a local  centre  : Jerusalem  was  the 
seat  of  power,  the  place  of  worship.  That  city,  crowned  with  the 
Temple,  sat  amidst  encircling  hills,  a queen,  to  whom  all  the  genera 
tions  from  David  unto  Christ  paid  tribute,  and  whose  heritage  was  the. 
memory  of  all  the  holy  men  of  old.  Jerusalem  was  the  chief  seat  of 
J udaism,  and  it  was  the  principal  scene  of  the  evangelical  efforts  which 
were  expended  on  the  field  of  Palestine.  Within  its  gates,  and  in 
the  courts  and  precincts  of  the  Temple,  Christ  spoke  a largo  share  of 
his  words,  and  wrought  many  of  his  mighty  works ; and  within  those 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


5 

inclosurcs  tho  Apostles  labored : there  they  prayed,  and  there  the 
Spirit  was  poured  out  at  the  pentecostal  revival. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  process  of  Jewish  training,  on  the 
great  field  of  the  Gentile  world  was  advancing  the  work  of  Pagan 
culture,  conducted  by  priests,  philosophers,  and  rulers,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  god  of  this  world.  History  denotes  the  successive  stages 
of  this  culture  in  the  arts  and  religions  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Persia, 
Greece,  and  Homo,  and  marks  its  culmination  in  Greece.  At  each 
period  we  notice  the  predominance  of  the  religious  element ; and  we 
see  Paganism  concentrating  its  attainments,  and  consolidating  its 
powers  in  the  great  cities.  Thebes,  Nineveh,  Babylon,  were  the  ear- 
lier seats  of  the  old  world  ; where  humanity  congregated,  where  hea- 
thenism flourished,  where  royalty  had  its  courts,  philosophy  its 
schools,  art  its  galleries,  commerce  its  marts,  war  its  munitions,  and 
religion  its  altars. 

At  the  advent  of  Christ,  both  these  cultures,  Jewish  and  Gentile, 
had  reached  their  acme,  and  begun  to  decline ; and  we  see  the  signs 
of  this  in  the  condition  of  the  principal  cities.  The  glory  had  departed 
from  Jerusalem.  Rome  and  Athens,  the  metropolitan  foci  of  the 
Gentile  world,  had  seen  the  sun  of  their  circle  pass  the  zenith.  From 
the  flood  Paganism  had  held  the  field,  had  trained  nation  after  nation, 
had  reared  and  ruled  a succession  of  imperial  cities  ; and  these  were 
its  latest  master  products ; Rome  embodying  the  results  in  arms  and 
government — Athens  in  philosophy,  the  fine  arts,  and  religion.  Rome 
was  empress,  and  grasped  the  sceptre  of  political  power  ; but  Athens 
was  priestess,  and  held  the  wand  of  spiritual  supremacy.  Rome  gave 
Paganism  a throne  ; Athens  gave  it  more,  an  altar,  for  every  divinity 
an  altar.  Hence,  although  but  a provincial  town  in  the  Roman  em- 
pire, Athens  was,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  the  metropolis 
of  the  empire  of  Paganism. 

The  ancient  rhetorician  uttered  more  than  a fine  rhetorical  flourish 
when  he  said  of  the  Acropolis,  “ Where  the  spirit  that  rested  over 
Athens  concentrated,  and  which  was  one  vast  composition  of  architec- 
ture and  sculpture  dedicated  to  the  national  glory  and  to  the  worship 
of  the  gods,  that  it  was  the  middle  space  of  five  concentric  circles,  of 
which  the  outer  four  were  Athens,  Attica,  Greece,  and  the  world.” 
And  if  Athens  at  length  waned,  it  was  because  Pagan  culture  could  go 
no  farther,  and  tended  strongly  to  decay.  What  Christianity  had  not 
yet  gained  in  any  city,  Paganism  had  long  held  in  Athens — the 
supreme  control  of  institutions,  usages,  and  classes  ; it  consecrated  to 
piety,  taste,  genius,  learning,  wealth,  and  authority  : the  city  was  wholly 
given  to  idolatry.  Yet  Athens  was  sinking  in  effeminacy  and  debase 


6 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


ment.  Her  philosophy  had  degenerated  into  the  rival  systems  of  the 
Stoics  and  the  Epicureans.  Her  fine  arts,  pandering  to  voluptuousness 
in  the  name  of  virtue,  and  decorating  galleries,  streets,  dwellings,  and 
temples  with  the  fascinating  forms  of  shamefulness,  had  made  beauty 
the  patron  of  pollution.  The  public  games  and  festivals,  theatrical 
exhibitions  and  Eleusinian  rites,  were  occasions  of  shocking  obscenities, 
sanctioned  by  custom  and  sanctified  by  religion.  Dead  to  moral  in- 
centives, the  people  cherished  no  manly  aims,  and  made  no  earnest 
endeavors.  They  were  confirmed  idlers,  and  desperate  news-mongers  ; 
“ they  spent  their  time  in  nothing  else,  but  either  to  tell  or  to  hear 
some  new  thing.”  The  popular  mind  floated  between  philosophy  and 
gossip,  or  fluctuated  from  devotion  to  debauch.  Religion  was  supreme 
in  Athens,  but  it  was  a religion  that  neither  purified  nor  enlightened 
its  votaries.  What  though  the  Agora,  the  Areopagus,  and  the  Acro- 
polis were  studded  with  sacred  monuments'?  What  though  every 
god  from  Jove  to  Bacchus,  and  every  goddess,  from  Juno  to  Venus, 
had  temple  or  altar  ? — this  did  not  prevent  ignorance  nor  vice,  but  fos- 
tered both. 

Of  the  ignorance  of  the  Athenians  there  could  be  no  proof  more 
palpable  than  that  which  was  presented  to  the  eye  of  Paul,  as  he,  a 
stranger,  and  alone  in  the  city,  walked  amidst  countless  edifices  conse- 
crated to  devotion:  it  was  the  altar  with  the  inscription  : To  the 
Unknown  God.  When  we  consider  that  there  was  not  one  such  altar 
alone,  but  many,  we  are  at  a loss  whether  to  regard  this  as  the  expres- 
sion of  a yearning  after  something  higher  and  better  than  the  Greek 
mythology  furnished,  or  to  see  in  it  the  very  excess  and  madness  of 
polytheistic  lust,  which,  unsated  with  the  multitude  of  familiar  gods, 
sought  to  swell  the  number  with  nameless  deities  conjured  from  the 
dark  unknown.  Paul,  who  may  have  met  with  but  one  of  these  altars, 
or,  seeing  that  each  had  the  same  inscription,  attached  to  all  the  same 
significance,  read  in  this  an  avowal  of  ignorance.  A religion  which 
enshrouded  the  mind  in  impenetrable  darkness  concerning  God,  could 
not  promote  enlightened  philosophy  or  sound  piety.  When  the  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  its  wisdom  was  folly.  Thus  in  Athens,  the 
summit  of  pagan  light,  stood  that  monument  at  once  of  the  best  and 
the  worst  aspect  of  idol-worship,  for  it  spoke  of  a yearning  after  God 
which  idolatry  suffered  to  find  substantial  expression,  but  could  not 
satisfy  with  all  the  resources  of  polytheism.  That  altar,  really  the 
highest  achievement  of  paganism,  was  a confession  of  its  utter  failure. 
It  betrayed  the  poverty  of  mythology.  It  revealed  the  vulnerable 
point  of  paganism.  To  carry  Athens  was  to  conquer  heathendom  ; 
and  Athens  showed  that  open  door  to  the  Gospel  assailant.  When, 


/ 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


7 


therefore,  Paul  stood  on  Mars’  hill,  and  pointed  to  that  altar,  he  stood 
where  he  might  command  the  entire  field  of  the  heathen  world,  and 
deal  a fatal  blow  at  paganism.  And  he  did  not  fail  to  seize  the  oppor- 
tunity. 

Such  was  the  relation  of  the  cities  to  the  old  pagan  world  ; and  as 
heathenism  has  not  essentially  changed  in  character,  it  has  not  ceased 
to  fortify  and  glorify  itself  in  cities.  While,  therefore,  to-day,  as  at 
the  first,  the  field  is  the  world,  the  fortresses  of  paganism  are  the  Cal- 
cuttas,  the  Bombays,  the  Bangkoks,  the  Jeddos,  the  Pekins,  the  Tim- 
buctoos.  And  the  primitive  policy,  commended  if  not  enjoined  by 
the  sanctions  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  should  be  adhered 
to  in  modern  missionary  operations.  The  cross  should  be  planted  in 
every  heathen  city.  Neither  expense,  nor  difficulty,  nor  danger, 
should  deter  from  the  occupancy  of  these  citadels  of  Satan.  They  are 
the  measure  of  the  strength  of  paganism,  and  they  should  be  the  mea- 
sure of  the  strength  of  missions.  The  estimates  of  men  and  means, 
of  power  and  wisdom  requisite  to  conduct  Christian  missions  should 
be  made  on  this  basis.  It  would  cause  a greater  outlay  of  resources 
at  once,  and  make  the  struggle  sharper,  but  the  campaign  would  be 
shorter,  and  the  expenditure  in  the  end  be  less  ; and  the  energy  of  the 
movement,  being  founded  in  a just  apprehension  of  the  scriptural 
method,  would  honor  God  by  displaying  that  faith  which  believes  that 
with  him  all  things  are  possible. 

There  is  no  economy  in  conducting  missions  on  low  estimates, 
made  on  the  scale  of  ability,  liberality,  or  missionary  zeal  in  the 
Church.  The  work  is  God’s,  and  his  is  the  power,  and  he  has  said : 
“ My  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  my  power.”  He  who  said, 
The  field  is  the  world ; and  who  sent  his  Apostles  into  the  proud 
cities  of  the  Jewish  and  the  Gentile  world,  He  has  counted  the  cost, 
and  will  supply  the  necessary  forces  and  funds.  He  now  only  waits  for 
his  people  to  exercise  mightier  faith,  and  to  show  a commendable  cou- 
rage and  earnestness  by  assailing  the  god  of  this  world  in  his  most 
impregnable  fortresses  ; then  he  will  give  Zion  glorious  victories,  and 
subdue  the  nations  under  her. 

The  field  of  Home  Missions  differs  from  the  foreign  in  these  two 
particulars,  apposite  to  this  discussion,  namely,  it  embraces  no  sys- 
tems of  paganism,  and  no  cities  given  to  idolatry.  It  belongs  neither 
to  Heathendom  nor  to  Christendom,  it  is  peculiar  to  the  New  World. 
The  great  West,  embracing  the  largest  half  of  the  territory  of  this 
republic,  is  the  field  of  Home  Missions.  This  is  rapidly  filling  with 
a promiscuous  population  of  unexampled  energy  ; the  potent  and 
manifold  elements  of  a vast  social  state  are  now  seething  in  the  gigantic 


8 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


caldron  ; oriental  magic  is  here  outdone  by  the  magnificent  creations 
of  cities  and  states. 

Preserved  by  a gracious  providence  from  early  discovery  and  con- 
quest by  the  pagan  powers,  from  the  subsequent  incursions  of  Mo- 
hammedans and  Catholics,  and  opened  at  so  late  a period  to  the  occu- 
pancy of  chosen  companies  of  Christians,  purged  and  disciplined  by 
persecutions,  the  £1  or th- American  Continent  has  clearly  been  destined 
for  the  planting  and  growth  of  Gospel  institutions,  and  for  the  predomi- 
nance of  Gospel  principles,  with  ultimate  reference,  no  doubt,  to  the 
issuing  hence  of  influences  for  the  evangelization  of  the  Old  World. 
The  Church  here  flourishing  amid  favoring  circumstances,  might  stamp 
the  growing  communities  around  with  the  right  impress,  and  send 
forth  also  saving  agencies  abroad.  Thus  a two-fold  work  of  evangeli- 
zation devolved  on  the  American  Zion,  the  Home  and  the  Foreign ; 
both  are  imperative,  and  are  coordinate  branches  of  one  great  system. 
While  this  new  world  can  never  be  pagan,  it  may  be  indefinitely 
more  or  less  Christian  : and  in  proportion  to  the  moulding  energy  of 
the  Gospel  in  the  home  field  will  be  its  success  in  foreign  lands.  A 
great  problem,  to  be  solved  by  home  missions,  is,  Whether  Christian- 
ity or  worldliness  shall  predominate  in  our  Western  cities  1 It  can 
hardly  be  expected  that  the  Gospel  will  do  more  for  Canton  than  for 
Chicago.  And  what  light  is  cast  on  this  problem  by  the  actual  results 
of  the  Gospel  agencies  in  the  older  cities  of  our  Eastern  States  1 Is 
Boston  a Christian  metropolis  ? Is  New-York  a stronghold  of  god- 
liness 1 They  are  the  centres  of  missionary  operations,  the  seats  of 
Foreign  and  Home  Boards  ; and  wherever  the  American  missionary 
has  gone,  in  the  far  West  or  in  pagan  lands,  these  cities  are  known, 
and  associated  with  Christian  missions.  But  are  Boston  and  New- 
York  wholly  given  to  the  worship  of  God  1 

Allowing  that  they  may  as  properly  be  styled  Christian  cities  as 
any  in  the  world,  will  it  be  denied  that  the  Gospel  has  but  partially 
overcome,  even  in  the  churches,  the  dominant  forms  of  worldliness  ? 
Do  not  error  and  mammon,  with  divers  minor  divinities,  dispute  the 
ascendency  with  Christ,  or  hold  it  in  defiance  of  his  claims  1 

The  partial  influence  of  Christianity  in  its  chief  seats  in  America  ad- 
monishes us  that  the  field  is  emphatically  the  world,  that  it  compre- 
hends not  only  the  far-off  pagan  lands,  and  the  distant  West,  but  the 
centres  of  Christendom,  the  cities  of  this  Christian  nation ; the  earth 
is  one  broad  mission-field  ; and  so  intimately  related  are  the  several 
parts,  that  what  is  done  at  home  will  determine  endeavor  abroad.  The 
Church  will  not  send  forth  a more  energetic  Gospel  than  it  cherishes 
in  its  own  bosom.  Hence,  when  we  remonstrate  against  the  tolera- 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


9 


tion  of  caste  in  the  mission-churches  of  India,  we  may  expect  to  be 
answered  by  a reference  to  the  covetousness  tolerated  in  the  churches 
of  America.  And  what  shall  we  say  to  this  1 That  the  one  evil  can 
not  atone  for  the  other  ; that  rather  the  covetousness  at  home  betrays, 
even  more  than  the  caste  abroad,  the  defect  of  Gospel  power,  for  which 
not  the  Gospel  but  our  faith  is  to  blame,  and  proclaims  that  the  field 
is  still  the  world,  not  one  spot  having  yet  been  gained  wholly  to 
Christ ; and  the  organized  forces  of  sin  remaining  still  predominant  in 
the  heart  of  this  land,  in  the  very  city  of  the  Pilgrims. 

II.  The  Work.  What  is  the  missionary  work  ? What  is  the  mes- 
sage 1 What  are  the  measures  ? 

The  Apostle’s  course  in  Athens  is  in  all  material  points  a safe 
directory  in  the  operations  of  the  foreign  field. 

1.  We  notice  the  promptitude  with  which  ho  seized  every  opportu- 
nity to  present  saving  truth.  This  is  displayed  in  his  disputations  in 
the  synagogue  with  the  resident  Jews  and  devout  Greeks,  in  his  speak- 
ing daily  in  the  market  with  citizens  and  strangers,  in  his  contending 
with  philosophers  of  variant  schools,  who,  suspending  their  own  con. 
tradictions,  joined  to  encounter  the  new  teacher ; wherever  the  mis- 
sionary could  find  hearers,  regardless  of  their  gibes,  he  preached  unto 
them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  He  despised  not  the  humble,  he 
dreaded  not  the  great.  He  accepted  the  lowest  places,  he  spoke  to 
few  or  to  many,  discerning  in  every  opportunity  an  opening  prepared 
by  the  Spirit ; and  confiding  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  ren- 
der the  work  effectual,  and  to  open  wider  doors.  And  when  the  Spirit 
inclined  the  Athenians  to  conduct  Paul  up  to  the  Areopagus,  and  gave 
him  that  most  desirable  position,  he  was  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
it.  He  stood  before  the  most  august  tribunal  in  the  pagan  world, 
not,  however,  to  be  tried,  but  to  be  heard ; for  the  grave  judges  of  the 
Areopagus  had  caught  the  infection  of  curiosity.  A great  concourse 
had  gathered  about  the  preacher,  priests  and  philosophers,  learned  citi- 
zens and  strangers,  artists,  traders,  functionaries,  even  women  unused 
to  such  assemblages ; the  Pireus,  the  Agora,  the  Porch,  the  Garden, 
poured  their  confluent  streams  to  the  Areopagus.  Christianity  and 
Paganism  were  there  to  encounter,  as  the  true  religion  and  Baalism 
did  a thousand  years  before  on  Mt.  Carmel.  And  as  on  that  occasion 
our  prophet  of  the  Lord  stood  alone  against  the  heads  and  hosts  of 
heathenism. 

Had  Paul  refrained  from  speaking  in  the  name  of  Christ  till  this 
eminent  post  was  accessible,  he  probably  would  never  have  stood  on 
Mars’  hill.  His  previous  labors  in  humbler  localities,  extending 


10 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


through  several  days,  had  prepared  the  people,  had  paved  the  way  to 
the  Areopagus,  and  had  honored  the  guidance  granted  from  on  high. 

On  the  other  hand,  had  the  solitary  missionary  shrunk  from  so  con- 
spicuous and  trying  a post,  and  deemed  it  more  becoming  his  humble 
character  to  teach  in  the  market,  or  in  the  synagogue,  he  would  have 
lost  a grand  occasion  of  proclaiming  the  true  God,  and  of  inflicting  a 
stunning  blow  on  paganism. 

2.  We  learn  what  was  the  subject  of  the  preacher’s  communications, 
on  each  successive  occasion ; whether  he  broached  it  at  once,  or  ap- 
proached it  gradually,  with  every  precaution  of  courtesy,  and  every 
prerequisite  of  instruction.  He  preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. 
With  this  proclamation  he  entered  the  synagogue ; with  this  announce- 
ment he  made  his  appearance  in  the  Agora ; with  these  strange  words 
he  encountered  the  philosophers  ; with  these  new  things  he  attracted 
the  people  of  Athens.  Nor  did  he,  by  any  want  of  explicitness,  leave 
room  to  doubt  whether  he  were  setting  forth  deities  or  doctrines,  or 
both  a deity  and  a doctrine.  He  made  himself  understood,  as  a setter- 
forth  of  strange  gods,  and  also  of  a new  doctrine.  The  resurrection 
was  that  which  most  excited  his  curious  and  cavilling  audience,  and 
impelled  them  to  take  him  up  the  Areopagus ; for  when  there  they 
said  : “ May  we  know  what  this  new  doctrine , whereof  thou  speakest, 
is  ?”  A God  and  a Resurrection  were  the  missionary’s  theme  in 
Athens  : a God  who  had  been  on  the  earth  in  the  form  of  man,  and 
had  suffered  and  died  for  the  sake  of  man,  and  who  had  gone  away,  to 
return  again  at  the  end  of  all  things  ; a resurrection  of  the  dead,  of 
the  buried  Jesus,  (which  had  already  transpired,)  and  of  all  the  dead. 

3.  We  notice  the  excellent  wisdom  with  which  the  preacher  ap- 
proached his  subject  in  the  discourse  he  delivered  on  Mars’  hill. 

(1.)  He  conciliates  his  captious  hearers  by  a respectful  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  distinguished  devotional  habits,  and  by  a courteous  allu- 
sion to  their  numerous  temples  and  monuments  sacred  to  religion. 
He  does  not,  as  our  version  unhappily  represents,  censure  them  for 
excessive  superstition,  but  commends  them  for  their  extraordinary 
zeal  in  the  worship  of  the  gods.  He  could  consistently  express  ap- 
proval of  the  giving  to  religion  that  preeminence  which  it  held  in 
Athens,  without  sanctioning  the  kind  of  religion  which  prevailed 
there. 

(2.)  He  startles  his  hearers,  of  every  class,  and  rivets  on  himself 
their  excited  attention,  by  referring  to  an  altar  dedicated  to  the  un- 
known God.  That  altar  represented  an  awful  mystery,  it  marked  the 
limits  of  Athenian  knowledge,  and  pointed  to  boundless  regions  of 
doubt  and  darkness  beyond  : and  the  Grecian  mind,  inquisitive  and 


ANNCAL  DISC0UR8K. 


11 


speculative  though  it  was,  recoiled  from  that  dreadful  verge.  Yet  the 
preacher  took  his  audience  thither,  and  with  an  assured  air,  advanced 
as  if  the  void  beyond  it  were  full  to  him  of  glorious  truth,  which  he 
could  reveal  to  them.  That  was  a master  measure,  that  passing  at 
one  step  from  the  boasted  domain  of  Athenian  wisdom  to  the  brink  of 
their  acknowledged  ignorance,  and  looking  thence  into  the  vast  obscure 
with  a knowing  eye,  and  starting  from  that  boundary  with  intrepid 
discourse. 

Paganism  gives  to  Christianity  this  vantage-ground.  After  it  has 
multiplied  its  deities  indefinitely  it  still  falls  indefinitely  short  of  ful- 
filling the  conception  of  God  w hich  is  in  the  mind  ; and  where  it  stops 
it  must  raise  the  altar  to  the  Unknown,  and  thus  give  a stand-point 
to  the  Christian  preacher.  Every  missionary  should  find  this  point, 
and  occupy  it  as  boldly  as  did  the  Apostle. 

4.  We  notice  that  the  inspired  preacher  undertook  to  enlighten  the 
confessed  ignorance  of  his  hearers.  This  was  the  next  step  in  the 
order  he  pursued,  but  is  the  first  in  the  proper  missionary  work  : to 
make  known  God.  “Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him 
declare  I unto  you.”  This  included  two  things — declaring  God’s 
nature,  and  also  the  worship  acceptable  unto  him.  Herein  as  just 
before,  the  preacher  set  forth  both  a deity  and  a doctrine.  Jesus  and 
the  resurrection  are  not  more  intimately  connected  than  are  God  and 
worship.  We  have  an  example  of  the  joint  instruction  requisite  on 
these  topics  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord : “ God  is  a spirit ; and  they 
that  worship  him 'must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.”  In  all 
false  religions  great  prominence  is  given  to  worship  ; but  the  fault  lies 
not  in  this,  but  in  the  rendering  of  wrorship  to  things  that  are  no  gods, 
and  in  the  corrupting  of  the  rites  of  worship.  Worship  was  not  car- 
ried to  greater  excess  in  Athens  in  the  time  of  Paul  than  it  was  in 
Jerusalem  in  the  days  of  Solomon  ; yet  in  the  latter  instance  it  was 
well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah.  Christianity  is  misunderstood 
if  it  is  supposed  to  make  little  of  worship.  It  should  never  be  said, 
with  truth  that  the  saints  of  the  most  High  God  are  behind  Moham- 
medans or  idolaters  in  devotion. 

(1.)  In  declaring  God,  the  Apostle  taught  that  He  is  the  maker  and 
ruler  of  the  world,  and  of  heaven,  and  of  all  things  in  the  universe  ; 
that  He  is  the  creator  of  all  peoples,  the  disposer  of  all  nations,  and 
the  provider  of  all  supplies  ; and  that  He  has  made  all  the  different 
races  of  men  of  one  blood. 

From  the  first  of  these  doctrines  it  appeared  that  God  could  not 
dwell  exclusively  in  temples  made  by  men,  that  no  walls  could  inclose 
him,  no  spot  contain  him.  He  must  be  vastly  superior,  therefore,  in 
8 


12 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


this  to  the  gods  of  the  Athenians,  -who  were  included  in  their  several 
edifices,  and  confined  to  them. 

From  the  second  doctrine  it  was  a plain  inference  that  God  needed 
not  any  offerings  of  food,  or  of  money,  or  costly  array  : and  in  this 
he  must  be  far  above  the  Pagan  deities,  who  were  supposed  to  be  de- 
pendent on  their  votaries  for  “ material  aid.” 

From  the  third  doctrine  it  followed  that  God  was  one,  that  there 
could  be  no  God  besides  ; and  hence  it  was  obvious  that  the  polythe- 
ism of  Greece  was  utterly  false  and  impious.  Hence,  too,  flowed  this 
humiliating  inference  that  the  Athenians  were  not  a superior  race,  but 
brothers  to  all  mankind.  Thus  in  one  statement  the  unity  of  God 
and  the  unity  of  man  was  declared. 

The  ignorance  concerning  God’s  nature  was,  in  this  simple  way 
effectually  enlightened  ; the  Unknown  was  made  known.  And  the 
process  that  revealed  God,  exposed  the  absurdity  of  pagan  mythology, 
of  idols,  altars,  and  temples. 

Moreover,  the  Athenians  were  hereby  enlightened  negatively 
touching  the  nature  of  divine  worship  ; they  were  taught  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  repair  to  temples  as  the  exclusive  residence  of  deity, 
nor  to  bring  to  the  altars  of  devotion  offerings  of  a costly  sort,  smok- 
ing viands,  and  first  fruits  of  the  field.  Their  worship  was  thus  clean 
swept  away,  with  their  gods  ; and  little  glory  was  left  to  their  extra- 
ordinary devotions. 

(2.)  They  were  then  further  and  more  positively  instructed  concern- 
ing the  right  worship  of  God.  They  were  taught  that  the  Creator  and 
Ruler  of  nations  had  appointed  to  every  people  the  bounds  of  their  hab- 
itations, that  they  might  worship  Him,  and  render  their  devotions 
where  he  had  cast  their  lot.  They  were  informed  that  true  worship 
was  communion  of  soul  with  God  ; and  that  the  sincere  and  earnest 
endeavor  to  seek  and  feel  after  him,  and  to  approach  unto  him  in 
prayer  was  acceptable  service ; that  nevertheless  he  was  very  near 
unto  all  men  ; insomuch  that  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being : hence  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  go  to  some  distant  favored 
abode  of  God,  nor  to  grope  about  blindly  with  a mere  chance  of  find- 
ing him  here  or  there  in  charmed  circles  of  air. 

(3.)  The  Athenians  were  still  more  fully  instructed  in  the  nature  of 
God  and  of  worship,  by  a revelation  of  the  spirituality  of  both.  God 
was  declared  to  be  the  Father  of  men,  of  the  souls  of  men  ; and,  there 
fore,  himself  a soul,  or  possessed  of  a spiritual  nature,  like  in  kind  to 
the  human  spirit,  but  superior ; the  author  of  all  spirits,  divine,  uncaus 
ed,  and  infinite.  Seeing,  then,  that  enlightened  men  recognized  an 
essential  difference  between  mind  and  matter,  and  asserted  the  exalta- 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


13 


tion  of  the  human  soul  above  the  most  precious  materials  in  nature, 
and  the  most  elaborate  works  of  art,  they  should  own  the  same  unlike- 
ness and  exaltation,  in  a for  greater  degree,  in  reference  to  God  ; and 
accordingly  they  should  not  think  “ that  the  godhead  is  like  unto  gold, 
or  silver,  or  stone  graven  by  art,  and  man’s  device.”  The  Father  of 
spirits  and  supreme  over  them,  he  should  receive  the  homage  of  the 
soul,  he  should  have  a spiritual  worship,  rendered  out  of  the  heart, 
and  tendered  without  intervening  image  or  cumbrous  ceremony. 

So  Paul  enlightened  the  religious  ignorance  of  the  Athenians ; 
by  revealing  to  them  one  God,  creator  of  matter,  and  therefore  above 
matter  ; Father  of  spirits,  and  therefore  the  Supreme  Spirit ; universal 
provider  and  ruler,  and  therefore  over  all,  and  independent  of  all ; omni- 
present and  omniscient,  and  therefore  every  place  filled  with  his  being, 
and  every  spot  the  house  of  God. 

(4.)  In  the  course  of  this  instruction,  the  Apostle  revealed  God’s 
sovereign  disposal  of  nations,  asserting  that  he  determined  the  times 
of  their  rise,  growth,  and  decay,  and  appointed  the  bounds  of  their 
habitation  or  fixed  their  land-marks.  lie  thus  taught  the  Athenians 
that  if  they  enjoyed  superior  local  advantages,  a more  congenial  clime, 
a more  smiling  sky,  than  other  peoples’,  they  were  indebted  for  these 
blessings  not  to  fate  or  fortune,  nor  to  their  patron-gods,  but  to  the 
Lord  God  of  heaven  and  earth.  He  also  admonished  them  that  they 
owed  to  Him  undivided  praise  and  grateful  homage,  in  the  ratio  of 
their  benefits ; and  that  the  persistent  withholding  thereof  would  for- 
feit their  blessings,  and  provoke  God  to  terminate  their  national  exist- 
ence. It  could  not  but  appear  from  this  teaching  that  though  unac- 
knowledged, and  hitherto  unknown  by  them,  God  was  and  ever  had  been 
their  Supreme  Ruler,  and  had  absolute  authority  over  people  and 
magistrates,  temples  and  altars,  customs  and  laws,  philosophers  and 
judges,  over  their  gods  and  goddesses,  their  institutions  and  organiza- 
tions, over  every  thing  belonging  to  the  complex  entity  of  a nation. 

From  the  broaching  of  this  radical  doctrine  in  the  midst  of  a course 
of  elementary  instruction  concerning  the  true  God  and  his  worship, 
we  may  infer  somewhat  decisive  touching  the  duty  of  all  the  ministers 
of  Christ  to  mingle  with  the  spiritual  teaching  they  impart  sound  in- 
struction in  relation  to  the  religious  obligations  of  nations,  and  to 
assert  the  supremacy  of  the  law  of  God  over  the  laws  of  men. 

5.  The  work  of  instruction  having  been  completed,  the  missionary 
steps  from  the  position  of  a teacher  to  that  of  an  ambassador ; and,  as 
though  God  himself  spake,  he  said  : The  times  of  your  ignorance  have 
passed,  and  the  forbearance  of  the  Supreme  Being  toward  you  because 
of  your  ignorance,  has  ceased  ; now,  God  commandeth  you,  and  all 


14 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


men  everywhere,  to  Repent.  This  is  the  first  word  of  the  Gospe! 
message.  The  humble  preacher  proclaims  God’s  new  message : and 
the  authoritativeness  of  his  manner  is  only  equalled  by  the  imperative- 
ness of  the  manifesto.  That  stern  word  comes  from  God,  it  is  his 
command  to  all  men  everywhere,  to  barbarians  and  Greeks,  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  to  all  the  Athenians,  to  their  wise  men,  to  their  venerable 
judges,  Repent.  And  it  was  sterner,  more  comprehensive,  because  it 
was  uttered  alone,  because  it  was  not  carried  into  specifications.  It 
was  not  repent  of  image-worship,  repent  of  polytheism,  repent  of  false 
philosophy,  of  pride,  of  caste,  of  idle  curiosity,  of  lasciviousness  ; but 
repent.  Specific  -wrongs  belonged  to  individual  men  ; but  the  com- 
mand was  addressed  to  all  men  ; the  forms  of  evil  in  Athens  were 
different  from  the  forms  in  remote  places,  but  the  word  came  to  all 
men  everywhere.  It  was  aimed,  therefore,  at  that  which  was  com- 
mon to  all  nations  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  namely,  moral  depravity. 
Repent  of  sinfulness,  repent  of  that  wickedness  of  heart,  out  of  which 
proceed  idolatries,  blasphemies,  darkness,  and  every  evil  work.  The 
axe  was  laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree.  The  message  was  urgent;  re- 
pent now,  put  away  at  once  the  heart  of  sin,  uproot  instantly  the 
accursed  tree  ; respect  not  its  comeliness,  pause  not  before  its  stateli- 
ness, hesitate  not  because  of  its  venerableness,  spare  it  not  a day,  pluck 
it  up  now.  There  were  various  points  involved,  which  sinners  then, 
as  now,  might  have  pressed  in  favor  of  delay  ; as,  inability,  want  of  con- 
viction, insufficient  emotion,  and  the  like.  Other  pleas  of  a different 
nature  might  have  been  used  in  limitation  of  the  command  to  repent, 
the  modern  forms  of  which  are,  organic  sins,  deep-rooted  prejudices, 
ancient  customs,  public  institutions,  property  interests,  national  con- 
cerns, wickedness  in  high  places.  All  such  considerations  were  disre- 
garded ; no  more  deference  was  shown  to  the  prerogatives  of  nations 
than  to  the  pleas  of  individuals.  The  instant  command — repent, 
swept  the  entire  field,  reached  every  altar  and  temple  in  Athens,  de- 
manded the  renunciation  of  every  idol,  and  required  the  immediate 
establishment  of  the  worship  of  God  in  the  metropolis  of  paganism. 

G.  The  Apostle  next  announced  that  God  had  appointed  a day  to 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness  ; and  that  the  judge  should  be  Jesus 
Christ.  The  command  to  repent  was  sustained  by  the  assertion  of 
final  judgment,  involving  the  certainty  of  punishment,  without  repent- 
ance. 

The  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God  and  man  had  not  been  more  morti- 
fying to  Athenian  piety  and  pride,  nor  the  preaching  of  repentance 
more  humiliating,  than  was  this  proclamation  of  a day  of  judgment, 
when  all  the  world  should  be  arraigned,  without  distinction  of  race, 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


15 


nation,  or  class,  to  be  tried,  on  principles  of  strict  righteousness,  by 
that  Man  whom  all  the  world  had  united  to  condemn  and  reject.  It 
placed  all  men  on  a common  platform — of  depravity.  It  proved  that 
God  was  in  earnest  with  his  creatures,  and  that  he  held  them  to  a 
moral  accountability,  as  his  offspring.  It  brought  to  light  a future 
state  of  existence,  in  which  the  condition  of  each  soul  should  be  deter- 
mined by  the  conduct  in  this  life.  As  the  preaching  of  repentance  in- 
volved the  doctrine  of  depravity  and  the  present  fact  of  man’s  lost 
estate,  so  the  preaching  of  final  judgment  involved  the  doctrine  of 
future  and  endless  rewards  and  punishments. 

7.  Th  is  all  implied  the  reappearing  of  the  dead  ; hence  the  Apostle 
declared  the  general  resurrection,  and  established  it  by  the  assertion 
of  the  actual  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Thus  far  the  preacher  held  the  attention  of  his  pagan  hearers ; he 
had  conducted  them  to  the  point  where  conviction  of  sin,  and  dread  of 
judgment  should  have  extorted  the  cry,  What  shall  we  do?  How 
shall  we  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ? — and  so  opened  the  door  to 
preach  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  guilty  and  perishing  sinners,  when 
Athenian  pride,  prevailing  over  Athenian  politeness,  drowned  in  dis- 
cordant clamors  the  preacher’s  voice,  and  abruptly  terminated  the 
great  discourse  in  the  midst  of  its  progress,  or  rather  at  the  crisis  of 
its  power.  “ When  they  heard  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  some 
mocked,  and  others  said,  we  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter.” 

Some  mocked ; and  not  a few  were  these,  nor  inconsiderable  per- 
sons. The  stoics  mocked,  whose  morality  had  been  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  wanting,  ■whose  philosophy  had  been  reproved  by 
the  wisdom  from  above,  and  whose  proud  indifference  to  all  things 
had  been  sensibly  disturbed.  The  Epicureans  mocked,  whose  skepti- 
cism was  stunned,  whose  sensuality,  disguised  under  the  name  of  hap- 
piness, was  rebuked,  and  whose  frivolity  was  confronted  with  the 
soberness  of  piety  and  the  solemnity  of  the  judgment.  The  devotees 
mocked,  whose  zeal,  at  first  complimented,  was  finally  shown  to  be 
without  knowledge  and  without  merit,  and  whose  gods,  and  altars, 
and  offerings,  were  exposed.  The  Areopagites,  too,  forgetting  their 
dignity,  or  fearing  for  its  security  under  the  preaching  of  a judgment 
higher  than  theirs,  mocked.  There  was  a great  mocking  then  on 
Mars’  hill — a fearful  jeering,  a fiendish  scoffiing.  The  temple  of  the 
Furies  echoed  the  hisses,  the  statue  of  Minerva  looked  down  derisive- 
ly, the  Acropolis  shook  with  the  laughter  of  the  gods ; paganism  had 
a jubilee ; Paul,  the  babbler,  was  silenced.  While  the  proud  ones 
mocked,  the  curious  ones,  greedy  for  novelty,  said  : “We  will  hear 
thee  again.”  The  extreme  strangeness  of  the  doctrines  commended 


16 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


the  discourse  to  them ; the  revealing  of  the  unknown  God  gratified 
their  morbid  craving  for  some  new  thing ; the  command  to  repent, 
entertained  them  by  the  utter  novelty  of  the  message  ; the  story  of  a 
coming  general  judgment  enchanted  them,  it  was  tidings  from  another 
world  remote,  and  it  opened  to  them  glimpses  into  distant  futurity  ; 
the  news  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  final  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  set  them  all  agape  with  wonderment.  Surcharged  with  such 
and  so  many  marvels,  they  cried:  “We  can  hear  no  more  now,  but 
we  will  hear  thee  again.”  If  Paul  was  silenced  by  the  mockers,  he 
was  sickened  by  these  merry-makers  ; and  neither  able  nor  disposed, 
perhaps,  to  say  more,  he  departed  from  among  them.  Pie  had  said 
enough  to  enlighten,  convict,  and  startle  his  hearers  ; but  he  had  not 
preached  the  truth  which  converts  and  saves.  He  had  delivered  the 
mandate  of  the  law  which  kills,  but  he  had  not  proclaimed  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Gospel  which  makes  alive.  The  offers  of  salvation,  the 
invitations  of  Christ,  the  terms  of  mercy,  were  smothered  in  the  utter- 
ance ; and  the  missionary  of  the  cross  went  away  from  Athens  never, 
as  it  would  seem,  to  return  thither  again. 

A few  persons  only  followed  him,  and  hearing  more  fully  of  the 
way,  believed  : one,  a man  of  eminence,  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite ; 
another,  a woman  of  sufficient  note-worthiness,  or  notoriety,  to  be  men- 
tioned by  name,  Damaris.  Athens,  like  Jerusalem,  rejected  Christ; 
these  two  chief  cities,  and  centres  of  the  two  reigning  systems  of 
Paganism  and  Judaism,  judged  themselves  unworthy  of  everlasting 
life ; and  they  were  forsaken  of  God.  In  neither,  however,  w'as  the 
missionary  work  a failure  ; Christ  conquered  them,  if  not  by  conver- 
sion, by  consignment  of  them  to  remediless  destruction  ; for  while 
Jerusalem  soon  met  a fate  whose  horrors  are  unparalleled  in  the  his- 
tory of  Roman  warfare,  Athens  sunk  into  a despicable  insignificance 
worse  than  the  ruin  of  overthrow.  Therefore,  notwithstanding  the 
small  success  of  Paul’s  labors  in  Athens,  estimated  by  the  number 
of  converts,  we  may  say,  with  another,  “ the  speech  on  the  Areopagus 
is  an  imperishable  monument  of  the  first  victory  of  Christianity  over 
Paganism.”*  And,  with  the  same  distinguished  authority,  we  may 
add  : “ It  was  ‘ no  mere  effort  for  the  moment,’  but  it  is  a ‘ perpetual 
possession,’  wherein  the  Church  finds  ever-fresh  supplies  of  wisdom 
and  guidance.” 

From  the  labors  of  Paul  in  Athens  we  derive  the  following  instruc- 
tions concerning  the  mode  of  conducting  the  missionary  work  in  the 
cities  of  the  Pagan  world. 

1.  That  opportunities  are  to  be  improved  as  in  the  providence  of 


* Soe  “Life  and  Epiatlos  of  St.  Paul,”  in  loc. 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


17 


God  they  occur.  However  small,  they  are  not  to  be  despised,  and 
however  great,  they  are  not  to  be  dreaded. 

2.  That  the  character,  habits,  and  tastes  of  the  people  are  to  bo 
studied,  and  their  religious  customs  especially  noticed,  and  that  in 
these  particulars  they  are  to  be  treated  with  unaffected  courtesy. 

3.  That  their  idolatry  is  to  be  traced  to  the  point  where  its  own  in- 
herent defectiveness  appears  and  stands  confessed,  or  may  be  exposed  ; 
and  there  the  Christian  pulpit  planted. 

4.  The  missionary  must  then  declare  the  true  God,  his  unity,  supre- 
macy, and  spirituality ; then  teach  the  nature  of  acceptable  worship ; 
then  declare  the  common  brotherhood  of  man,  and  the  moral  depravity 
of  the  race  ; and  the  amenability  of  nations  to  God. 

This  is  the  process  of  enlightening  the  heathen. 

5.  Then  he  must  preach  repentance,  as  God’s  command,  radical, 
universal,  immediate  repentance ; and  he  must  enforce  this  duty  by  al- 
leging the  certainty  of  a future  righteous  judgment,  at  which  all  the 
world  shall  be  assembled,  and  stand  before  the  crucified  Jesus,  the 
judge;  and  this  he  must  confirm  by  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead. 

This  is  the  preaching  of  the  law  and  the  testimony.  And  it  must 
precede  the  preaching  of  the  Cross. 

If  the  missionary,  having  proceeded  thus  far,  and  opened  the  door 
by  regular  process  to  present  the  atoning  Lamb  of  God,  is  interrupted ; 
if  the  clearness  of  the  light,  and  the  claims  of  the  law,  and  the  author- 
ity of  the  summons,  Repent,  and  the  awful  sanctions  of  judgment  and 
resurrection,  alarm  or  enrage  the  people,  so  that  they  will  hear  no  fur- 
ther, the  missionary  has  nought  left  him  but  to  depart  from  the  city, 
his  work  there  is  done  ; nor  shall  it  be  in  vain.  Let  not  the  modern 
missionary  presume  that  he  is  authorized  to  shun  an  apostolic  exam- 
ple, that  has  so  little  to  recommend  it  in  its  apparent  results ; and 
that  he  shall  exhibit  a superior  wisdom,  by  avoiding  the  great  cities  of 
paganism,  adjudging  them  hardened  and  hopeless  beforehand,  or 
by  adopting  more  moderate  measures,  with  the  view  of  securing  a 
permanent  footing  in  them.  Rather  let  him  give  due  heed  to  this 
rule  of  missionary  labors,,  to  be  drawn  from  the  acts  of  Paul  in 
Athen  : “ Preach  the  word,  and  leave  the  work  with  God.” 

Of  all  his  mission-labors,  successful  and  unsuccessful  alike,  the- 
great  Apostle  speaks  in  these  inspired  words  of  grateful  approval 
“ Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  ic 
Christ,  and  maketh  manifest  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in  every 
place.  For  we  are  unto  God  a sweet  savor  of  Christ  in  them  that  are 
saved,  and  in  them  that  perish  ; to  the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  death. 


18 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


unto  death,  and  to  the  other,  the  savor  of  life  unto  life.  And  who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things  1”  And  he  subjoins  these  emphatic  words  : 

“ For  we  are  not  as  many,  which  corrupt  the  word  of  God  ; but  as  of 
sincerity,  but  as  of  God,  in  the  sight  of  God  we  speak  in  Christ.” 

Still  more  emphatic,  if  possible,  is  his  language  following : “ For 
the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God 
to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds  ; casting  down  imaginations,  and 
every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God, 
and  bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.*7 

III.  The  remaining  topic  of  the  present  discourse  is,  the  Agency 
that  Christ  has  been  pleased  to  engage  in  the  work  of  Missions. 

This  is  the  main  topic,  for  it  relates  to  the  power — the  executive 
power.  W e might  presume  that  herein  the  wisdom  of  God  would  be 
most  illustriously  displayed.  W e might  pre-suppose  that  a work  of  such 
magnitude  that  none  but  God  could  project  it,  and  that  weapons  of  such 
sort  and  temper  that  they  could  be  furnished  only  from  the  heavenly 
magazine,  would  require  nothing  short  of  divinity  in  the  agency.  And 
so  the  Scriptures  teach  when  rightly  understood.  The  agency  is  indeed 
two-fold,  divine  and  human,  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Missionary. 
But  the  Missionary  is  to  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  employed  by 
him,  controlled  by  him,  energized  by  him,  and  subordinated  in  all 
things  to  his  will. 

The  human  part  of  the  agency,  as  brought  to  view  in  the  commis- 
sion of  our  Lord,  and  exemplified  by  the  first  Missionary  to  the 
Gentiles,  demands  our  special  attention.  When  we  have  said,  Christ 
has  called  men  of  like  passions  with  others  to  be  his  missionaries  for 
the  conversion  of  the  world  to  himself,  we  have  declared  what  is 
true ; yet,  we  have  spoken  but  a small  part  of  the  truth  touching  the 
matter.  The  best  and  mightiest  men  are  wholly  unfit  for  this  agency, 
of  themselves ; they  need,  in  all  respects,  to  be  fitted  by  special 
divine  training,  and  by  ample  divine  endowments,  to  be  co-workers 
with  God  in  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Neither  human  training,  nor 
natural  talents  are  disregarded ; on  the  contrary,  physical  powers, 

* Dr.  Macknight’s  paraphrases  of  this  passage  (see  2 Cor.  10 : 4-5)  makes  it  apply 
particularly  to  such  missionary  labors  as  those  of  Paul  in  Athens : “ For  the  weapons 
wherewith  we  carry  on  our  war  against  the  heathen  religions,  and  against  those 
who  support  them,  are  not  weak,  but  very  mighty  for  the  overturning  of  fortresses 
erected  by  human  policy  in  defense  of  idolatry.  With  these  weapons  we  overturn 
the  reasonings  of  statesmen  and  philosophers,  and  every  proud  imagination  raised 
up  like  a rampart  by  the  lusts  and  passions  of  men,  against  the  knowledge  of  Cod, 
to  prevent  its  entering ; and  wo  load  captive  every  thought,  and  make  it  subservient 
to  the  obedience  of  Christ.” 


AJCNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


19 


mental  gifts,  and  whatsoever  qualification  is  derived  from  nature  or 
from  education,  is,  or  may  be , accepted.  God  has  called  both  the 
foolish  and  the  wise,  both  the  small  and  the  great,  both  the  despised 
and  the  admired  ; but  in  either  case  he  has  trained  and  qualified  them 
to  be  his  servants,  deeming  the  infirmities  of  some  no  disqualification, 
and  the  abilities  of  others  no  sufficiency,  and  esteeming  it  absolutely 
essential  that  the  power  of  Christ  should  rest  upon  all. 

In  the  great  Apostle  Paul  we  see  an  early  proof  that  distinguished 
talents  were  sometimes  respected  in  the  choice  of  missionaries  ; yet, 
while  we  are  struck  with  the  adaptedness  of  Paul’s  versatile  genius 
and  varied  acquirements  to  the  work  committed  to  him,  we  are  far 
more  impressed  with  the  qualifications  he  received  from  God,  partly  by 
discipline,  and  partly  through  the  impartation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We 
can  not  well  avoid  the  conviction  that  his  native  endowments  wero  the 
gift  of  Heaven,  with  reference  to  the  holy  vocation  whereunto  he  was 
predestined  ; and  that  his  extraordinary  educational  advantages  were 
providentially  afforded  and  secured  to  him  with  a divine  regard  to 
the  same  purpose.  He  more  thaij  intimates  this  himself  in  these 
words  of  Gal.  1:15:  “ But  when  it  pleased  God,  who  separated  me 
from  my  mother’s  wombx  and  called  me  by  his  grace.”  Neverthe- 
less, these  extraordinary  powers  did  not  qualify  Paul  to  be  a minister 
of  Christ ; but,  after  his  conversion,  when  God  revealed  his  Son  in 
him,  that  he  might  preach  him  among  the  heathen,  immediately  he 
was  put  on  a course  of  preparatory  training.  And  this  was  not 
committed  to  the  apostles,  but  was  conducted  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
himself;  so  Paul  testifies:  “Neither  went  I up  to  Jerusalem  to 
them  which  were  apostles  before  me,  but  I went  into  Arabia;” 
and  there  he  lived  three  years,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  During  this  time  he  had  not  conferred  with  flesh  and  blood, 
he  had  not  seen  the  apostles,  and  “ was  unknown  by  face  unto  the 
churches  of  India,  which  were  in  Christ.”  Called  to  be  a servant  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Paul  must  needs  be  taught  by  him,  and  could 
be  properly  qualified  only  by  the  training  of  his  Spirit,  during  a 
term  of  years.  Nor  did  this  suffice.  He  must  be  endowed  with 
divers  spiritual  gifts,  some  strictly  miraculous,  (for  special  reasons 
needed  in  order  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  ministry,)  and  others  super- 
natural, and  needed  by  every  minister  of  Christ.  And,  moreover, 
the  Apostle  must  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  only  as  a Spirit 
of  Inspiration,  which  was  requisite  in  his  case,  but  also  as  a “ Spirit 
of  love,  and  of  power,  and  of  a sound  mind,”  which  was  requisite 
alike  for  all  missionaries  to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  was  ne- 
cessary that  Paul  should  be  made  a new'  man,  a holy  man,  a wise, 


20 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


a spiritual,  a strong  man;  and,  in  order  to  all  this,  he  must  be 
“ full  of  faith  and  of  the  IToly  Ghost.”  “ Our  sufficiency,”  saith 
he,  “ is  of  God,  who  also  hath  made  us  able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament,  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit.”  This  God-given 
sufficiency  constituted  Paul  an  ambassador  of  Christ,  and  of  course 
every  qualification  for  the  duties  of  this  office  was  secured,  so  that  he 
was  fully  empowered  to  administer  the  New  Testament,  and  to  com- 
municate the  life-giving  spirit  of  that  Testament.  With  all  these 
spiritual  qualifications,  superadded  to  his  natural  and  educational, 
and  with  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  him  to  energize  his  soul,  and  to 
superintend  his  motions  of  thought,  word,  and  deed,  the  Apostle 
was  “ a workman  that  need  not  be  ashamed,”  a worthy  co-worker 
with  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  earthen  vessel  was  divinely  fitted  to  hold 
the  heavenly  treasure.  Yet  it  was  not  necessary  that  he  should  be 
freed  from  all  human  infirmities ; rather  there  must  needs  be  left,  for 
his  humiliation,  the  thorn  in  the  flesh,  that  he  might  be  ever  reminded 
of  his  dependence  on  all-sufficient  grace ; and  we  know  that  he  learned 
to  glory  in  his  infirmities  mor^  than  in  his  abilities,  because  they 
were  the  occasion  of  the  power  of  Christ  resting  upon  him. 

The  amplitude  of  the  Apostle’s  spiritual  qualifications  is  truly  won- 
derful. Independently  of  his  miraculous  gifts,  which  were  the  special 
prerogatives  of  the  apostles  and  primitive  teachers,  he  had  many 
supernatural  endowments,  and  withal  he  enjoyed  in  such  fullness  the 
indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  that  he  was  thereby  enlightened,  emboldened, 
strengthened,  sustained,  and  guided  ; and  the  result  of  all  this  endu- 
ing from  on  high,  was  his  being  fitted  for  every  department  of  his 
arduous  service,  and  fortified  for  every  hardship  and  peril  that  awaited 
him.  He  was  raised  above  fear,  care,  doubt,  and  want ; he  was  inde- 
pendent of  worldly  policy ; he  sought  not  earthly  favor,  he  envied 
not  human  wisdom,  he  deferred  not  to  existing  institutions,  he  dreaded 
not  “ principalities  and  powers.”  He  has  left  us  in  his  own  words, 
recorded  in  the  Acts,  an  account  of  his  labors  and  of  his  fearlessness 
amid  persecutions.  Addressing  the  Elders  of  Ephesus,  he  said  : “Ye 
know  how  I kept  back  nothing  that  was  profitable  unto  you,  but  have 
showed  you,  and  have  taught  you  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house ; 
testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  now  behold  I go  bound 
in  the  Spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall 
me  there ; save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying, 
that  bonds  and  afflictions  await  me.  But  none  of  these  things  move 
me,  neither  count  I my  life  dear  unto  me,  so  that  I might  finish  my 
course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I have  received  of  the  Lord 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


21 


Jesus,  to  testify  the  Gospel  of  the  Grace  of  God.  Wherefore  I take 
you  to  record  this  day,  that  I am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men,  for 
I have  not  shunned  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God.” 

Paul’s  separation  from  the  ministers  of  Ephesus,  on  this  occasion, 
was  like  the  separation  of  Elijah  from  the  young  prophet  Elisha : 
“ They  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him,  sorrow  ing 
most  of  all  for  the  words  he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no 
more.’  But  in  that  final  prayer  with  them  all,  what  grace,  wis- 
dom, and  power  he  besought  to  rest  upon  them,  we  may  infer,  assur- 
edly, from  his  foregoing  wrords : “ Now,  brethren,  I commend  you  to 
God,  and  to  the  Word  of  his  Grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up.” 
This  great  Apostle,  so  mighty  through  the  Spirit  toward  the  Gen- 
tiles, at  length  finished  his  course,  and  rested  from  his  labors.  The 
work,  as  yet  but  begun,  must  be  committed  to  other  laborers  ; and 
what  manner  of  persons  ought  they  to  be  who  should  succeed  Paul  1 
They  surely  ought  to  be  like  him,  if  not  in  native  talents  and  in 
learning,  and  in  gifts  of  miracles,  yet  in  training,  teaching,  and  en- 
dowments of  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  as  to  be  suitable  co-laborers  of  the 
Spirit.  And  that  this  was  the  divine  intent  from  the  beginning  is  put 
beyond  a doubt  by  Scripture  testimony.  Not,  however,  that  there 
was  to  be  a mystical  transmission  of  powers  and  prerogatives  by 
laying  on  of  hands,  constituting  an  apostolical  succession  ; but  that 
there  should  be  fresh  impartations  from  the  Lord — that  each  one 
called  to  be  a servant  of  Christ  in  the  Gospel,  should  receive  the 
necessary  gifts  from  on  high.  This  is  implied  in  the  injunction  of 
Christ  to  all  his  disciples : “ Pray  ye,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that 
he  would  send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest.”  This  virtually  pre- 
scribes the  committing  of  the  matter  of  choosing,  fitting,  employing, 
and  directing  successive  ministers  and  missionaries  to  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest ; this  whole  matter  being  really  too  vital  to  the  success  of 
the  Gospel  to  be  intrusted  in  other  hands.  Whatsoever  instrumentali- 
ties God  might  see  fit  to  use  in  the  training  of  his  servants,  as  the  early 
precepts  of  godly  parents,  the  instructions  of  pastors,  the  tuition  of 
schools,  the  salutary  influences  of  the  Church,  still  the  work  is  His, 
and  the  chief  preparations  (immeasurably  so)  must  come  from  him, 
and  are  to  be  sought  by  believing  prayer.  In  this  prayer  of  the 
Church  must  be  embraced  the  separating  of  future  ambassadors  of 
Christ  from  the  womb,  the  superintending  of  their  physical  condi- 
tions, their  mental  development,  and  intellectual  acquirements,  the 
seasonable  securing  of  their  conversion,  and  the  discipline  of  their 
souls  in  faith,  obedience,  and  spirituality ; also,  the  imparting  to  them 
of  ministerial  qualifications  of  a supernatural  kind  or  degree,  general 


22 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


and  special — the  former  making  them  able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  latter  fitting  each  for  the  particular  work  or  field 
to  be  assigned  to  him  ; moreover,  the  renewal  and  increase  of  these 
gifts  by  repeated  baptisms  from  the  Holy  Ghost  during  the  course  of 
the  ministry,  and  the  guidance  of  the  labors,  and  the  upholding  of 
the  laborers  by  the  indwelling  Spirit,  which  is  pledged  in  the  pro- 
mise : “Loll  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.” 

The  men  thus  gotten  from  the  Lord  by  earnest  prayer,  would  be 
esteemed  by  the  Church  as  worthy  of  confidence  and  support ; they 
would  be  regarded  as  God’s  workmen,  competent  and  trustworthy, 
needing  little  supervision  of  Mission  Boards.  They  would  be  men 
full  of  faith,  of  love,  and  of  heavenly  wisdom ; therefore,  fearless 
and  strong,  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel,  not  daunted  by  opposition 
nor  moved  by  persecutions,  not  abashed  in  the  presence  of  mercenary 
rulers  nor  confounded  in  the  midst  of  cities  crowded  with  the  monu- 
ments of  paganism.  They  would  stand  confessed  the  foremost'  men 
in  heavenly  gifts  and  graces ; quite  in  advance  of  the  ministry  at 
home,  as  it  now  is,  and  of  the  Church ; insomuch  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  in  the  bosom  of  Christendom,  the  men  spiritually 
qualified  to  undertake  the  management  of  Foreign  Missions.  What- 
ever modifications  of  the  present  mode  of  conducting  missions  might 
result,  it  would  be  altogether  likely  to  be  an  improvement.  So 
whatever  changes  might  take  place  in  the  education  of  youth  destined 
for  missionary  service,  or  in  the  standard  of  qualifications,  or  in  the 
number  of  laborers  sent  forth,  or  in  the  contributions  of  the  Church 
for  the  support  of  missions,  might  confidently  be  expected  to  be  for 
the  better.  And  with  such  a vast  augmentation  of  spiritual  power, 
through  the  supernatural  endowments  liberally  vouchsafed,  the  results 
of  missionary  efforts  must  be  indefinitely  enlarged.  Every  foreign 
mission  station  would  be  invigorated,  and  every  pagan  stronghold 
would  tremble ; “ One  should  chase  a thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight.” 

, REMARKS. 

In  closing  this  discourse,  I would  call  attention  to  the  fact,  that 
nearly  every  question  of  moment  concerning  the  operations  of  Christ- 
ian Missions,  depends  on  the  amount  of  power  and  wisdom  from  on 
high  that  shall  accompany  and  endue  the  missionaries.  The  questions 
above  discussed : of  heathen  cities  as  the  principal  seats  of  evangel- 
ical operations;  of  the  relations  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  and 
of  Christendom  to  both,  and  of  the  cities  of  each  section  to  the  whole 
field,  the  world ; of  the  methods  for  presenting  the  truth  to  the 
heathen  mind ; of  the  boldness  required  to  preach  repentance  without 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


23 


qualification  ; of  the  degree  of  home  superintendence  necessary,  and 
many  other  questions  of  principle  and  of  policy,  that  engage  the  at- 
tention and  divide  the  counsels  of  the  friends  of  missions,  will  find 
their  solution  readily  in  the  adequate  supply  of  laborers,  whose 
sufficiency,  as  able  ministers,  shall  be  of  God.  Every  thing  relating 
to  the  management  of  missions  must  be  under  the  direction,  not  of 
human  sagacity,  but  of  the  wisdom  which  cometh  from  above ; and 
none  but  those  who  are  liberally  gifted  in  that  heavenly  grace  is  fit 
to  have  a voice  in  the  counsels,  or  a vote  in  the  control  of  this  great 
work  of  God  on  earth. 

Let  me  then  urge  with  much  earnestness  on  your  hearts,  my  breth- 
ren, the  duty  of  prayer  for  laborers  of  God’s  choosing,  of  his  fitting, 
of  his  sending  forth  and  superintending.  The  field  is  the  same  as 
when  Paul  wrought  in  it,  the  same  world  lying  in  sin,  and  presenting 
its  city-seats  of  idol-worship ; the  truth  is  the  same,  the  self-same 
sword  that  Paul  wielded  ; the  agency  of  the  Iloly  Ghost  is  the  same 
in  power,  the  same  in  readiness : but  where  are  the  Pauls — the  greater 
than  Paul  1 Evangelization  wraits  for  men  of  God.  The  swTord  of 
the  Spirit  waits  for  a hand  strong  enough  to  grasp  it,  for  an  eye 
steady  enough  to  direct  its  blows,  for  a soul  strung  to  exploits  wor- 
thy’ of  it.  Men  of  supernatural  endowments  have  lived  since  the 
days  of  miracles.  Many  of  the  Reformers  wrere  such  men,  and  many 
of  the  Pilgrims  too.  Luther  was  a mighty  Reformer,  endued  of  God 
with  energy  and  dauntless  courage ; "Whitfield  was  a preacher  of 
apostolical  zeal,  trained  and  empowered  by  the  Lord ; Martyn  was  a 
mighty  missionary,  whose  extraordinary  genius  and  acquirements 
were  eclipsed  by  the  gifts  of  God’s  Spirit;  James  Brainerd  Taylor 
was  a young  man,  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  early 
death  deprived  the  Church  of  a minister  of  whom  it  might  almost 
be  said,  he  was  more  an  angel  than  a man.  Why  are  there  not  at 
this  day  a host  of  men  of  like  heavenly  endowments  ? Why  are  not 
the  ministers  at  home,  and  the  missionaries  abroad,  largely  endued 
with  power  from  on  high  ? Why  should  we  be  skeptical  concern- 
ing supernatural  gifts,  and  essay  to  carry  on  the  enlarged  operations 
of  Christian  Missions,  without  men  trained,  enlightened,  and  ener- 
gized by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  ? Shall  we  pretend  that  the  cause  now 
does  not  demand  such  men  1 Rather  must  we  not  be  convinced  that 
missions  have  never  required  more  imperiously  the  power  and  wisdom 
that  come  from  above  1 Old  cities,  the  centres  of  empires  of  dark- 
ness, closed  since  the  Christian  era  began,  are  now  opening  their  gates 
to  the  Gospel.  Blows  may  be  struck  in  them  which  will  be  as  de- 
cisive, and  may  be  more  redeeming,  than  those  of  Paul  in  Athens. 


24 


ANNUAL  DISC0UR9E. 


Obstacles,  which  to  ordinary  faith  look  mountainous,  obstruct  the 
progress  of  evangelization,  and  will  continue  to  obstruct  until  some 
Zerubbabel  shall  be  sent  of  God,  before  whom  the  great  mountains 
shall  become  as  plains.  Look  at  our  Home  Missionaries ; what  are 
they  now  doing  ? Inlaying  in  the  foundations  of  cities  and  states 
the  elements  of  soundness,  strength,  and  stability  which  the  Gospel 
contributes.  What  manner  of  men,  then,  should  they  be  ? common 
men1?  feeble  men?  time-serving  men  ? Nay!  but  men  of  holy  valor, 
of  divine  wisdom,  of  preeminent  spiritual  gifts ; this  is  God’s  work, 
and  God’s  workmen  should  be  employed  in  it.  Is  not  God  from  on 
high  calling  on  his  people  that  they  “ pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest, 
that  he  would  send  laborers  into  his  harvest”  ? Have  we  ever  offered 
this  prayer  in  faith,  and  with  consideration  of  its  import  ? Have  we 
ever  sounded  its  depths,  and  comprehended  its  breadth  ? Have  we 
perceived  how  the  sending  forth  of  laborers  is  but  one  act  in  a series 
of  acts,  beginning  with  the  separation  of  them  from  the  womb,  the 
superintending  of  their  early  and  advancing  education,  the  securing 
in  due  time  of  their  sound  conversion,  the  furnishing  them  with  every 
requisite  qualification,  both  natural  and  supernatural,  the  going  with 
them  into  the  harvest,  and  the  working  with  them,  and  the  supplying 
them  with  all  needed  resources  ? Shall  wc  have  faith  to  embrace  all 
this  in  our  prayer,  and  to  bear  this  mighty  suit  to  the  throne  of  grace  ? 

Let  the  officers,  members,  and  patrons  of  this  Association  earnestly 
unite  in  this  prayer.  Let  every  monthly  concert  throughout  Christen- 
dom groan  beneath  this  burthen.  Let  all  pastors  strive  to  inspire 
their  people  with  this  great  desire,  till  every  closet  shall  be  vital  and 
every  sanctuary  shall  be  vocal,  with  this  supplication.  Let  the  solicit- 
ing agents,  as  they  visit  our  churches,  press  on  the  people  of  God,  on 
pious  parents,  on  Sabbath-school  teachers,  on  all  who,  from  love  to 
missions,  contribute  money  to  the  cause,  the  importance  of  praying 
for  laborers.  Let  the  Foreign  and  Home  Missionaries,  as  they  send 
to  us  the  Macedonian  cry,  accompany  it  with  the  earnest  charge  to 
the  churches,  “ that  they  pray  the  Lord,  that  He  would  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest.” 

The  Executive  Committee  are  pointing  us  to  the  new  fields  that  the 
good  hand  of  the  Lord  has  so  signally  opened  before  this  Association, 
and  they  are  calling  for  men  • and  for  means  to  occupy  those  fields. 
Do  not  these  favoring  providences,  and  these  pressing  calls,  crowd  us 
to  the  mercy-seat?  It  is  the  Lord’s  prerogative  to  send  forth  ; it  is 
our  privilege  to  pray  Him  to  do  this.  If  liberality  is  requisite,  faith 
is  far  more.  If  the  Lord  will  stir  up  his  people  to  pray  for  men  of 
might  and  wisdom,  he  will  doubtless  move  them  to  give  the  means 


ANNUAL  DISCOURSE. 


25 


of  their  support.  It  would  be  a luxury  to  such  to  minister  of  their 
abundance  to  the  needs  of  missionaries  like  Paul.  They  would  pluck 
out  their  eyes,  if  need  be,  and  give  them. 

The  world,  lying  in  sin  and  shrouded  in  darkness,  is  outspread  be- 
neath the  pitying  eye  of  God;  and  to  Ilis  view  it  is  one  wide  field, 
white  for  the  harvest.  To  Zion  has  been  committed  the  instrument- 
alities divinely  ordained  for  this  work,  and  they  are  perfectly  adapted 
and  entirely  adequate.  With  God  is  the  power  to  execute  and  the 
wisdom  to  direct,  the  patience  to  continue  and  the  purpose  to  com- 
plete what  has  been  undertaken.  Let  now  the  Church,  by  the  utmost 
energy  of  faith  grasp  the  whole  work,  and  throw  it  into  the  arms  of 
God ; and  then  say,  May  we  thy  people,  O Lord ! be  willing  in  the  day 
of  thy  power  ; we  consecrate  to  thee  our  sons  and  our  daughters,  our 
children,  our  infants ; graciously  accept  the  offering,  and  choose  from 
among  them  the  best,  the  most  promising,  and  take  them  under  thine 
own  training,  put  thy  spirit  in  their  hearts,  endow  them  with  wisdom, 
endue  them  with  strength,  make  them  able  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  send  them  forth  into  thy  harvest ; and,  Saviour,  go 
with  them,  and  use  them  to  bring  the  heathen  tribes  to  thy  feet. 
Even  so,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly ! 


/ 


■ 


